Hobby turns into business for local winemakers

Bradley Ferguson owns Bluefield Estate Winery with his wife, Jennifer. Bluefield Estate Winery, which opened on County Road 234 in May, currently serves blueberry, white muscadine and red muscadine wines. It will be adding new flavors in the coming months. (Courtesy photo)

By Andrea RumbaughCorrespondent

Published: Monday, October 3, 2011 at 4:22 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, October 3, 2011 at 4:22 p.m.

Two Gainesville locals and University of Florida graduates have turned their winemaking hobby into a business.

The winery, located in east Gainesville off County Road 234, makes three flavors: semisweet blueberry, white muscadine and red muscadine.

“We're still real small right now,” Bradley Ferguson said. “We have big dreams.”

They are open Saturday and Sunday, and customers can taste the flavors before buying a bottle priced at $11.99.

The Fergusons started making blueberry wine with soft blueberries from Bradley Ferguson's grandfather's farm. Although the grapes were not fresh produce, they were perfect for wine.

Their first batch was five gallons — and admittedly too strong, they said. But they improved after taking classes and continuing to experiment. They soon found, however, that making the wine was the easy part.

“We've probably spent more time just trying to figure out all the regulations and business aspects,” Bradley Ferguson said.

Dealing with local regulations has been an issue for their winery, the Fergusons said, especially the county ordinance dealing with off-sight advertising. Businesses are not allowed to have signs on other people's properties, they said, and that has hindered sales.

They have kept making wines, however, and say they will have a variety of new flavors ready in the coming months once their labels are approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The flavors include dry and sweet blueberry, strawberry white zinfandel and blackberry merlot, among other fruit-flavored wines.

Kimberley Hudacko, 53, and Fagan Arouh, 56, celebrated their 18th anniversary Sunday by visiting the winery. They said they enjoy supporting local businesses and wanted to give the winery a try. They ended up buying a case — four bottles of each flavor.

“It's different to find a place that actually makes wine in Florida,” Arouh said.

<p>Two Gainesville locals and University of Florida graduates have turned their winemaking hobby into a business.</p><p>Bradley and Jennifer Ferguson opened Bluefield Estate Winery in May.</p><p>The winery, located in east Gainesville off County Road 234, makes three flavors: semisweet blueberry, white muscadine and red muscadine.</p><p>“We're still real small right now,” Bradley Ferguson said. “We have big dreams.”</p><hr />
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<hr /><p>They are open Saturday and Sunday, and customers can taste the flavors before buying a bottle priced at $11.99.</p><p>The Fergusons started making blueberry wine with soft blueberries from Bradley Ferguson's grandfather's farm. Although the grapes were not fresh produce, they were perfect for wine.</p><p>Their first batch was five gallons — and admittedly too strong, they said. But they improved after taking classes and continuing to experiment. They soon found, however, that making the wine was the easy part.</p><p>“We've probably spent more time just trying to figure out all the regulations and business aspects,” Bradley Ferguson said.</p><p>Dealing with local regulations has been an issue for their winery, the Fergusons said, especially the county ordinance dealing with off-sight advertising. Businesses are not allowed to have signs on other people's properties, they said, and that has hindered sales.</p><p>“That's really hurt us,” Bradley Ferguson said. “People just don't know we're here.”</p><p>They have kept making wines, however, and say they will have a variety of new flavors ready in the coming months once their labels are approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The flavors include dry and sweet blueberry, strawberry white zinfandel and blackberry merlot, among other fruit-flavored wines.</p><p>Kimberley Hudacko, 53, and Fagan Arouh, 56, celebrated their 18th anniversary Sunday by visiting the winery. They said they enjoy supporting local businesses and wanted to give the winery a try. They ended up buying a case — four bottles of each flavor.</p><p>“It's different to find a place that actually makes wine in Florida,” Arouh said.</p>